Pale in comparison
by joiedevivre2011
Summary: Tumblr mini-fic prompt: Things I wasn't meant to hear. [one-shot]


Tumblr mini-fic prompt: _Things I wasn't meant to hear_

* * *

The double tap of metal against ceramic sounded louder than normal in the open space of Maura's first floor. A small clink of metal against marble. A short slurp as Jane sipped from the steaming mug of coffee.

Her mother turned around and leaned against the counter in front of the sink. "How long has she been out?"

Jane glanced at her watch. "Nearly an hour. She might be up soon. She probably set an alarm." Her smile was small, as if sharing a joke with herself.

"How did she seem before she decided to lie down?" Angela asked quietly.

"Tired in every sense of the word."

The older woman sighed. "I was always a mess after a breakup too."

"She's not a mess. I'm not even sure she knows what that word is," Jane joked. Her tone then became serious. "She's just…sad."

"I would be too if the man I'd fallen in love with had to suddenly move across the country," her mother replied softly. "Wouldn't you?"

Jane shrugged.

"What about Casey leaving?" Her mother's eyebrow quirked upwards.

Jane sipped her coffee. "I'm not sure I was ever in love with him actually," she confessed. "Maybe just the idea of him." Her mouth twitched and she stared into the ceramic mug clutched tightly between her hands. "You think she's really in love with him?"

"Well they were together for what, eight months? She said she loved him."

"But this is Maura," Jane countered, looking back up. "She could say that and not consider it lying. Saying she loved him doesn't mean she meant _in love_ with him."

"Well what do you think? You're her best friend. She tells you things she doesn't tell anyone else."

"I don't think I'm the right person to answer that question actually."

Her mother's brow furrowed.

"I think…" Jane hesitated. "I think how I feel has affected whether or not I really know how she felt about Jack."

"What exactly do you mean by how you feel?"

Jane quietly drummed her fingers on the countertop. "I mean…" Her voice trailed off. "There's a reason why I've never liked any of the men Maura's dated."

"Ahhh," Angela said knowingly. She breathed in deeply and scrutinized her daughter carefully. "Do you think she knows?"

"I think maybe she's just interpreted it as me being protective of my best friend. Other than that…" Jane shrugged.

"Why are you afraid of telling her?"

"I don't know if I'm afraid really as much as I am not wanting to upset the balance we have in each other's lives. Our relationship works where it is and the last thing I wanna do is ruin that for either of us."

"Surely you've thought about it becoming better though?" After Jane remained silent, staring at longingly at her coffee, Angela said, "I don't know that I've ever seen two people more perfect for each other."

Jane looked up sharply at that comment, obviously shocked by her mother's candidness.

"Jane, haven't you seen the way she looks at you? Do you realize how you look at her? It's like you're both looking at the eighth wonder of the world." She shook her head in disbelief. "You two are so damn stubborn."

"Yeah, well, I know exactly where I get it from," the younger Rizzoli said pointedly.

Angela pursed her lips.

"Whatever." Jane sighed, pushing back the island bar chair. "I'm gonna go check on Maura."

Standing in the hallway, just around the corner from the kitchen, Maura's eyes widened, her hand flying to cover her mouth as she nearly gasped. She turned on her heels as quickly as possible and fled up the stairs, knowing exactly which spots to avoid that would reveal her presence. She tiptoed down the hallway to her bedroom faster than she ever thought possible and headed immediately to her bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar.

She'd just begun to lather her facial cleanser when she heard Jane call her from the bedroom doorway. "Bathroom," she called back.

The white wooden door opened slowly. "How ya feeling?"

After rinsing off her face and patting it dry with a clean towel, Maura turned toward her best friend. "I feel," she began before pausing and taking a deep breath. She smiled. "It's sad. Breakups usually are, but I can't help but feel that what I had with Jack will pale in comparison to what's going to come next."

"Yeah?"

Maura nodded. "Yeah."

The two stood there for several moments, silently looking each other in the eyes. Jane swallowed hard as Maura slowly approached her.

"What makes you so sure?" Jane asked skeptically.

The corner of Maura's mouth curled into a hint of a smile and she shrugged. "Call it a gut feeling," she said quietly as she stopped within a foot of Jane, reaching for the taller woman's hands and intertwining their fingers.


End file.
